A new study finds cognitive differences in
children more susceptible to anorexia and bulimia

Children at high risk for eating disorders demonstrate significant
cognitive differences from those at lower risk, according to a new study
published in the journal Psychological Medicine. Researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) drew from a study of 6,200 children between ages 8 and 10 and they discovered that
those with a close relative with anorexia on average have a higher IQ
and better working memory (the ability to temporarily hold and process
useful information). However, these kids were also found to have poorer
attentional control in general. Children with a bulimic family member
tended to have difficulty assembling objects, illustrating poorer
visuo-spatial skills than the control group. According to study author Radha Kothari,
studying kids who are at risk—instead of those who have developed
eating disorders—rules out diet as a contributing factor. ”This meant we
could focus on characteristics that might increase the risk of
developing an eating disorder, rather than characteristics which might
be the result of an eating disorder,” she says, and this type of insight
that could eventually help support prevention-based treatment. Dr. Nadia Micali,
who led the research, says: “Although more research is needed to
clarify these results, these findings should nevertheless help in the
identification of vulnerable children, and in furthering our
understanding of which neuropsychological characteristics may make a
child susceptible to an eating disorder.”